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My brother came home to my parents’ house the first Sunday I was there. My brother is a single guy living and working hard just trying to get by. Haha! So I wanted to make sure to send him home with a ton of nice goodies to enjoy for the next few days at his house. When he cooks, he usually cooks for necessity, not for fun, so he doesn’t often have homemade cookies and such in his house. I made the Brunchtime Sour Cream Cupcakes and this recipe for Apple-Oat Bars that I found on the Vegetarian Times website. Sadly these Apple-Oat Bars weren’t ready before my brother had to leave so he could only take cupcakes, but my grandma came over for lunch the next day and got to try them, along with Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritos and a fun favorite drink of mine for Old-Fashioned Coffee Sodas. As you can see, we ate pretty well while I was home. By the way, this recipe is vegan, so put it in your recipe box for the next time your vegan friend comes over for tea.

1. Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.
2. Mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a mixing bowl. Using a fork, work in the oil and cider until mixture forms coarse crumbs.
3. Press about 2 cups of the oat mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the cut-up apples.
4. Mix the almonds into the remaining oat mixture and sprinkle evenly over apples. Pat firmly into an even layer.
5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top is golden and apples are tender when pierced with a fork.
6. Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into bars.